Back catalogue: Metal

Review: Welsh hard rock band Budgie never quite reached the highs of some of their peers by still did plenty for the evolution of their own particular musical niche. The were often said to be a blend of Rush's progressive styles and the more direct and dark heaviness of Black Sabbath. At the heart of the band was Burke Shelley's vocals - famous for their high-pitched banshee style - and despite being commercially unheralded, they have been mentioned as an influence by the likes of Iron Maiden, Van Halen and Queens of the Stone Age. This live show from LA in the late 70s catches them in electrifying form.

Review: Ever consistent Canadian hardcore punk crew, Cancer Bats, are seemingly set to return with their follow up to 2018's 'The Spark That Moves', which marks their first offering following the departure of founding guitarist Scott Middleton.

With the frenetic thrashings of latest single, 'Lonely Bong', the group haven't sounded this vitriolic or pissed off in the better part of a decade.

From the thunderous title-track alone, it's evident 'Psychic Jailbreak' marks a smouldering return to form with low end grooves and Southern snarl imbued within its hardcore bindings. Cancer Bats have always sounded their best when resembling Every Time I Die getting into a beer-soaked bar brawl with Down, and this could be the fight that leads to a hospital visit.

Review: Don Dokken returns 11 years after the divisive Broken Bones album to give people much more of what they want. Fans of Dokken, and all things Dokken-esque, will likely attest with open armed honesty to the fact they're here for some insanely oversized riffs and classic, polished driving heavy metal, and it's safe to say that Heaven Comes Down delivers on those counts. Then it throws in a load more. While very much sounding like a time capsule back to the heyday of this sound, this isn't to suggest there has been no progress, development, or evolution. As critics pointed out when this hunk of wail and muscle landed, the eponymous frontman is arguably at his most laidback on this record, and vocals are used not just to provide a focal point in between all that shedding, but also as a complement to other elements making up some pretty complex arrangements.

Review: Woking based Metalcore behemoths, Employed To Serve, delivered their most precise accomplishment to date with last year's 'Conquering.'

The fourth full-length from the quintet showcases a simultaneous embracing and disregard for their bevvy of influences ranging from Zao and Converge to Machine Head.

It's in the middleground where ruthless bastardisations of frantic mathcore and groove laden nu-metal coalesce to conjure crushing bangers such as 'Twist The Blade' or lead single, 'Mark Of The Grave.'

Review: Opening on the grinding powerhouse of 'I', Kosmik Sun present three tracks of epic, cinematic heavy rock-metal which gives a nod to the likes of Mogwai and Explosions In the Sky. Albeit here things seem to have taken more of an influence from darker places, with each part of the triptych casting an eerie spell over the listener, transporting them to psychedelic, doom-laden otherworldly places. The side project of German aficionado Eugen Kohl, best known for the Crypt Witch project, Kosmik Sun also features members of Coven Spell and Devil Leaf, which, if nothing else, should let any newbies know exactly what they're in for. Steeped in deep stoner atmosphere, not to mention exceptional, gritty musicality, this is intensity for thinking people and it never lets up.

Review: If you've seen Metallica live and in the flesh you'll appreciate how ferocious their shows are. It's not just the music that's loud, all aspects of the performance seems to hit like wrecking ball, raising the volume and intensity on each chord of every riff, drum-packed crescendo, and disorientating outro. And it's always been that way, as this reissued recording from one of their legendary shows proves. Captured in 1994, when the thrash metal pioneers played Woodstock, USA, Justice For All certainly lives up to the name of the outfit's classic 1988 LP, And Justice For All, which earned them their first Grammy nomination. It's pretty powerful, potent stuff, running through a number of the group's strongest tracks in a live context, which goes some way towards transporting us to the gig itself.

Review: Progressive metal legends, Queensryche, pulled off the unthinkable with their fourteenth full-length, 'Condition Human'. The second album to feature vocalist Todd La Torre, after the dramatic firing and subsequent lawsuit brought by former frontman Geoff Tate, served as a reinvigorated rebirth, with many regarding the project to be easily the finest output from the group in the 21st century. Lengthier, more technical and brimming with seasoned chops, 2015 marked a major return to form which the band would capitalise further upon with 2019's, 'The Verdict'. No better time to revisit a modern essential before the imminent arrival of the much hyped, 'Digital Noise Alliance.'

Review: Before Tool were known for their grandiose live shows that keep frontman Maynard James Keenan shrouded in darkness next to drummer Danny Carey, before they were considered progressive metal titans unmatched by any act within the scene, they were just another four-piece alternative metal group made up of four outsider misfits who seemingly struck a unique balance with one another and a burgeoning fanbase. Captured in 1991 at a performance in the Los Angeles Jello Loft where they would cut their teeth, this set is made up of material from both their 1992 debut 'Opiate' EP and 1993's follow-up full-length Undertow, pre-dating the release of either project, with the songs landing on almost completely unsuspecting ears. Take a fly-on-the-wall earful of early versions of 'Cold & Ugly,' 'Sweat', and 'Hush', which showcase their first forays into aggressive grooves whilst the juxtaposition of these tracks next to their much darker, proggier successors such as 'Sober' and 'Swamp Song', highlight the singular vision they were already striving towards before even dropping one official project.

Review: Massachuessetts symphonic deathcore brutalisers, Worm Shepherd, made quite the statement of intent with 2020's 'In the Wake ov Sol'. On their sophomore effort, however, it now becomes abundantly clear just how much expansive venom the group have been harbouring. 'Ritual Hymns' builds upon its preceding debut with obliterating breakdowns, complex, frosted melodics and a weary, theatrical sense of nihilism that elevate epic centrepieces such as, 'Blood Kingdom' and 'A Bird In The Dusk' to a level of spectacle only tangentially approach on their debut.